


~Geoff The Creator~

by youtubeimaginationstation



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Adventure, Computer World AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-06 20:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youtubeimaginationstation/pseuds/youtubeimaginationstation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff the Creator, a man who just wanted to create a world to escape into uses his skills in computer engineering and game development to do just that. What he doesn’t realize is that this little world he programmed would turn into much more than just another late night project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The error of his ways no more

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Geoff the Creator](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/33416) by Pan (Yetioka). 



It’s another late night...

Another failed run...

Geoff slams his fists down onto the table in front of him, pulling the headset off and tossing it carelessly to the side in frustration. It didn’t work. Again. He was so sick of it never working. The endless tests and minor adjustments, he wasn’t sure how many more of them he could handle before he just gave up.

Well, that was a lie actually.

He was never going to give this project up.

Geoffrey Lazer Ramsey, computer engineer and game developer extraordinaire, had graduated from college with a masters when he was seventeen, he had worked for private companies on and off for years at this point, being paid well enough from it that he lived rather comfortably in his apartment. Working for these companies he was always testing his skills and boundaries and was always leaps and bounds above everyone in the industry, and was now working to do something that no one had ever done before. His intention was to create a world that when someone connected to it, there were no boundaries. It would induce a sleep of sorts, one that merged with a person’s mind and make it indistinguishable from real life in the way one interacted. Most people would say that was impossible as it was, but that wasn’t the only thing that Geoff intended to do. His real goal was to create characters within the world, ones that he could interact with and have real conversations with without having to program presets. He was going to have them have their own thought processes that worked like a human mind; that was his quest. The problem was little details. 

Every time Geoff plugged into the system to run a test he would get a black block world, no details, just walls and floor, and a never ending ceiling. None of his programmed characters ever appeared, it was only him in the darkness. It was suffocating to say the least, and each time he would log off disappointed and more than a tad upset and would search the coding for something that could be causing the mistake. Tonight though, he was furious. It had been six months and he still had made no progress. He always did things correctly! How was this little program keeping him from succeeding in his goal? Geoff pushed away from his desk and walked away into his kitchen, rummaging through his fridge for a beer. He opened it, sighing at the hiss that it made before taking a sip. The alcohol slid down his throat and he leaned against his counter, closing his eyes as codes seemed to zoom behind them in an effort to find his mistake. “What the actual fuck did I miss? I swear I should have perfected it with the last update… what could I have missed?” He muttered aloud. Geoff moved from sips to full gulps, trying to use alcohol to clear his head in a way that nothing else seemed to be able to do. He did his best work drunk, and as he finished his beer he crumpled the can and tossed it into a recycling bin before returning to his office. 

The room was dark, only his computer screen lighting up the room as it circled through each of his designed character’s profiles. It was the only room in his apartment that was never clean. Sketches and handwritten coding littered the room in various states of array. His waste bin was overflowing from the excess of failed designs that he periodically looked through, leaving crumpled papers across the floor. Tons of sticky notes dotted the walls and successful colored drawings and ideas were pinned among them as well. There were also pairs of shoes scattered around the room, him coming home from a contract job and immediately kicking them off to work. It had been in this state for a few months, he always thought about cleaning it when he first entered the room, but the glow of his computer always drew him in, and despite his frustration at another failed run he still sat down at his computer and opened up the program. Geoff’s tired eyes scanned pages upon pages of coding, looking for the mistake that had prevented the program from working. And there he sat for another three hours looking for it, sure at this point that he was never going to ever find. 

Until he found it.

Geoff’s mouth nearly hit the desk and his eyes grew wide at the sight of the error. It was so simple! A basic mistake in the origins of the code, one that stopped the entire thing from working properly, he had found it. With quick hands and determination swelling in his chest he adjusted it and saved it. He grinned, reaching for his headset only to remember he had tossed it aside. “Shit.” He mumbled, scrambling from his chair and groping around in the dark for it, sure that he was going to enter the program, it was finally going to work for him; he would see his masterpiece. His fingers wrapped around the padded headset and he pulled it up in triumph. Geoff couldn’t keep the smile off his lips, it was about to happen; he was about to join his creations in the world he had made. Geoff slipped the headset over his ears and took a deep breath, his hand hovering over the mouse that was already positioned over the start button. “Well, here goes fucking nothing.” He announced, dropping his hand and hitting the mouse, closing his eyes for a moment as he waited for it all to boot up. There was a sound like wind that rushed through the headset, it was a familiar sound that normally ended in a disappointing dark room, but this time as he descended into the sleep he had hope that he thought had died long ago. 

Geoff opened his eyes to blue sky.


	2. The characters and how they play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff finally sees the character's he's been working on for months come to life.

Geoff gasped, lifting his hands up to examine them. They were covered; skin peeking out from fingerless gloves. His gaze moved down his own body and he discovered that his programming was successful in his appearance. The whole thing was based off of Master Chief from Halo, and he was pleased to see that it looked as good as he had originally planned it to be. “That’s sweet as dicks!” He exclaimed, running his hands over the material in wonder. He looked up from his own body and around at the city he’d made. He was aware that he was laying on something that had a give to it and he rested his hands on it, pushing to discover it was textured rubber in lime green and black. He had created the design in the square of the city himself, and he was excited to see it in it’s in game completion. He whipped his head around looking for the large stone structure he had created to be his own abode when in game. It took him no time to spot and he sprinted over and around the back, huffing as he went because damn this fucking building was huge, and reached the elevator he had built in the back. “I seriously hope this works.” He said, hitting the button and holding his breath. It wasn’t like anything negative would happen to him if it was to break in the middle of ascending, but he wasn’t looking forward to the sudden awakening that was sure to follow. Luckily it rose without problem and he eased against wall, stepping out onto the roof. He walked across the top, grateful that there was no wind to knock him off his feet, and when he reached the edge he was astounded. 

Below him was a large square with a lime green circle made of four curved rectangles. Inside of it was a star of the same color, and in the center of that was an old school joystick. Let it never be said that Geoff didn’t love video games. Surrounding the logo he’d made were various houses to fit the base personalities of each of his characters. A slight breeze had picked up as he stood atop his house and observed the land; it was so open to creation that would be done by his and his characters hand. As he thought about it he realized that his characters had to be somewhere near, he wanted to speak to them and see if they could actually do as he intended them to. Geoff rushed back to the elevator and tapped his foot impatiently as it descended. As soon as it was safe for him to exit he hopped out and ran out, past a small house that was basically attached to his own. It had a low ceiling and happened had murals of Kung-Fu fighters on the side. He chuckled at his own art choice and stepped back out onto the logo. 

Geoff’s eyes scanned the area and he judged that it must be morning. A decision was made of whom to awaken first and he walked towards a house made of the same stone as his own. He didn’t knock, knowing that this particular character wouldn’t think to lock his door, and walked in. “Hey Gavino!” He called, waltzing up to the lump in the bed and prodding him. “Get your ass up and get unnaked, we gotta get the others up.” He kept his tone a casual; these characters were programmed to know who he was with particular traits. This one, Gavin, was meant to see him as almost a fatherly figure. “C’mon Geoff, lemme sleep you knob.” A British accent mumbled from underneath a pile of blankets and his head popped out from them. He had a long face with big jade eyes that were currently peeking at him. “Out of bed, now.” Geoff commanded and Gavin yawned, revealing the rest of his face. His nose was on the larger side, yet somehow it suited his face, and a layer of stubble that coated the lower half of his face. All of his hair was the color of wheat and was currently sticking out in every direction. Gavin looked rather like a young child in the way that he glared Geoff down. “Up boy, we gotta get the other chucklefucks up.” He leaned against the wall, aware that he was leaning on a piece of art, but not caring. If he wanted to lean on anything he would be leaning on a piece of art. The man’s house was covered in it, all of the walls a puzzle piece of various paintings that matched the eccentricities of Gavin’s personality. “Fine, get out you tosser. I gotta get dressed.” Geoff chuckled and ducked as a pillow was lobbed at his head as he exited the building. 

To no surprise on his part he looked across the square and saw a red headed man with a bushy well kept beard exiting a house that was suspended over an open mine by stilts. “Hey Jack!” Geoff called out and Jack turned around a waved lazily at him. He was heavier set, but by no means overweight, and had a smile that seemed to be combatting the sun for warmth. He was dressed in a pair of red shorts and a green shirt with an obscure looking design that was in fact from, yes, another video game called Trials Evolution. “Hey there, Geoff.” He replied, beckoning him over. Geoff sauntered over, the smile that had come onto his face when he first entered still there; his cheeks were beginning to hurt at this point. “You seem to be in a good mood this morning.” The bespectacled man commented and Geoff shrugged. He realized that his attitude must have been a little off for what they were expecting, but he couldn’t help it. Already he was ridiculously impressed with how the program was running, “Yeah, well. It’s been a good morning so far.” He replied leaning against the railing of Jack’s porch. “That’s good, what are the plans for today?” Jack asked, taking his glasses off to clean them on his shirt. “Not sure yet, but I’ll keep you updated.” The two chatted idly for a minute longer, enjoying the lovely weather in what Geoff had dubbed Achievement City.

Gavin came rushing out of his house not long after. He was garbed in a pair of green trousers and a three-quarter-sleeve top that had a print similar to a creeper, an enemy from a game called Minecraft. He’d chosen that particular design for Gavin because creepers were known to blow up at a moment’s notice, much like the bursts of energy he expected from the mischievous younger man. “Geoff, Geoff!” He called, and Geoff grinned, descending the stairs of Jack’s home onto the center area. “Yeah, buddy?” He asked, meeting the younger man halfway there. “You dragged me out of the bed to wake people up, so let’s get on with it ya knob!” Then he darting across the logo to a quaint house of no real distinction other than it looked the most normal there. Immediately a squawk could be heard from inside and an angry yell. “God damnit Gavin!” 

“I was sent to wake you up Michael!”

“With a fucking bucket of water?”

“Well… no, that was my idea.”

“I’m gonna kill you, you little British shit!”

Seconds later Gavin came tumbling out of the house and scrambled back over to Geoff, cowering behind him. After him stomped out the man that could be no other than Michael, and he looked pissed. His auburn curls were damp and dripping, but Geoff knew that when they were dry they had a bounce to them. He had a pair a thin-wire glasses that were dotted with water and pale cheeks that were dotted in a similar fashion except with freckles. He wouldn’t look all that intimidating really, aside from his frown that looked like it belonged to a completely different person. Geoff, having designed this man himself, knew that when Michael smiled it was a grand site, and had even gone so far as to include a dimple for those who would get to see him in a happier state. Geoff’s design for him was also from a video game, Banjo Kazooie, and his had him in a pair of lemon yellow shorts and boots that looked similar to an animal’s paws. Over his shoulders was a sleeveless hoodie that had bear ears. The idea with him was that he was like a deceiving teddy bear, looks cute but shit, he had a short temper like a sleeping bear. 

“Gavin you little shit, c’mere!” Michael growled, and Gavin made whimpering noises from the shield of Geoff’s body. “Geoff! Save me!” He whined, and Geoff unceremoniously pushed him out into the warpath. “C’mon Michael, I need to go and get Ryan and Ray up! Please don’t kill me.” Geoff heard Jack laughing from his porch as Michael stalked Gavin around in a circle. “Alright, cool it you too. The twink is right, he’s in charge of getting everyone up no matter how unconventional his ideas are.” Michael finally stopped, still frowning, but the rage had faded from his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” In a last ditch effort to mess with Gavin he walked over near him and shook his head in a fashion similar to a dog sending Gavin into squawks again. He mumbled to himself as he trudged back across the logo to get the other two me up. 

Geoff was astounding, trying not to show his pleasure in how well everything was going so well. Each of the characters he had interacted with so far just accepted him in like they knew him, and their speech patterns were stunning. He had never imagined it going so perfectly, each personality was what he had programmed them to be and more, already they were developing their own facets and interactions that were fascinating. Michael had retreated up onto Jack’s porch, and thankfully Gavin didn’t decide to be a little brat and find more buckets of water because the next character emerged unharmed. It was Ryan, a character he had made specifically for unique character development. He had chosen traits that allowed for him to grow in a way that the other characters might not get the chance to do. He was meant to be quiet, but had also given the man a background in theater and theater productions. He’s meant to be intelligent, and have a unique sense of humor, and as he emerged Geoff was pleased to see that his appearance had come out as planned; a built man with strong jaw and sandy hair and slow developing beard to match. His attire was not a reference to anything at all; he donned a kilt with a black belt and a black button up top. Ryan’s feet were covered in black boots with the edge of white socks peeking out. He approached the others with a relaxed smile, his glasses pushed up onto his forehead seeing as he didn’t always need them, already a characteristic that Geoff hadn’t planned.

“Good morning Ryan.” He greeted him, and Ryan gave him a nod. “Morning, what’s the plans for today?” Geoff hesitated to answer, not entirely sure what he had planned for today. These men were going to look at him like he was their leader, a figure they would follow, and that meant he likely needed to have a better plan next time he entered the world. He figured today he would allow them to do as they pleased so he could observe their interactions and note how they were developing. “Lazy day boys, no major event, just a day to do what you need to do. Gotta have those, amiright?” The three who were out with him made sounds of agreement, and Geoff turned his gaze to the last house. It was the smallest of them all, a modest building that had only the bare essentials. Gavin came out first and plodded over, immediately a stream of chatter as he climbed the steps to join the others. Finally though Geoff’s final character emerged, and his grin grew wider. 

This character in particular had been fun to create, he was meant to have dry humor and an appreciation for pop culture references that Geoff had managed to stream into the program; he was laid back and had a taste for jokes at the sake of his own appearance. Despite his personality, his clothing taste was impeccable. His thin frame was fitted with a black suit that looked made for him, and a red rose peeked out from his lapel. “Ray, you are the heaviest sleeper.” Geoff commented as he approached and the man just shrugged. “Yeah, y’know I wasn’t expecting a wake up call from the Brit.” He jabbed his thumb in the direction of Gavin who was currently being attacked by Michael. They ascended the stairs together to join the group, and all the while Geoff tried to process the success of his project.


	3. Retreat to a happier place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff gets to spend a day with his characters, and finds himself falling in love with the world he' created.

Achievement City, Geoff’s technological baby, was alive and thriving in front of him. It was overwhelming in the best sense of the word. Every little detail was the same to what had haunted his dreams for months at this point, all of his past disappointment with this program and the tedious nights of purely checking code were behind him, and now he was surrounded by fresh air and unique voices that chatted around him like they had known each other for years at this point. At his own suggestion they decided to have a lax kind of day, and they were all herding on Jack’s front porch as they decided what they wanted to do for their day’s off. Everyone had a little something they needed to get done, and Geoff was mentally taking a note of all their activities so he could go and observe them at different times during the day.

The men scattered, each off to do their own thing, not before Geoff announced that they would be holding a bonfire that would be featuring marshmallows and s’mores which had all of them cheering as they walked off. Geoff opted to hang out with Jack for a little while, relaxing in the warm sun while they talked. “So, Jack, what are your plans for today then?” He asked, leaning against the railing and letting his eyes slide shut. “Thought I might go work on the library, building an underground room takes a lot longer than I thought.” Geoff opened on eyes to look at Jack in surprise, but naturally he had to play it off like he knew. “Oh right, how’s that coming along?” Jack chuckled, and shrugged. “Well the room is almost done, hanging all the frames with all the natural resource images it taking a while, but it’s totally fucking worth it. It looks great… hey Geoff, let’s go see it.” Geoff grinned, pushing himself off the railing and following Jack down the stairs. A beep comes from his wrist though, stopping him in his tracks and Jack turns to face him, an eyebrow cocked in confusion. “What was that?” He asked, and Geoff lifted his wrist to see it was watch that gave him in game time and real world time, in the real world it was currently five in the morning, and he had to get up for a contract hire at eight.

“Shit, okay Jack, I will be right back, I have to go and do something real fast.” Geoff sprinted off to the monolith that was his abode and ran in, slamming the door and locking It before sliding down the door. He had never had a successful run in the game, he had no idea what was going to happen once he left. Would everything continue to exist now or would their time pause. He was afraid of the first option, but he needed to get some sleep for the job he was going to be doing in the morning so he ejected from the game. Blackness clouded his vision and suddenly his eyes opened to see the glow of his computer screen. “Fuck me.” He breathed, pulling the headset off and setting it on his desk with shaking hands. “It actually worked…” He tried to process it, letting the wave of various emotions roll over him. “Oh my fucking god it actually fucking worked!” He shouted, jumping from his seat only to get hit by a rush of exhaustion and dizziness. He’d been in the game for around two hours, so time moved slower in the program than in real life, interesting. Geoff shuffled towards his bedroom so that he could sleep for a few hours, a happy buzz still coursing through his veins as he collapsed into his bed.

Waking up was hard, and he imagined that it would be interesting to wake up in the program rather than his own bed. He sighed, crawling out and looking for some clothes that looked presentable. Getting ready was a pain in the ass, he had definitely not gotten enough sleep but he was using the inevitable return to the game as a motivation to get through this job as efficiently and quickly as possible. Geoff was buttoning his shirt up a she walked through his apartment, slowing as he passed his office with longing to return to his characters. “Later Geoff.” He reminded himself, grabbing his keys and walking out the door.

It was the most painstakingly boring job he ever did.

It was almost embarrassing how excited Geoff was to get home when he did, he almost skipped changing out of his business clothes but decided last minute just because he knew he was going to be sitting there for a few hours at the least seeing as it was only noon. Once in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt he settled down into his chair and flexed his hands over the keyboard. The program was still open from the night before and he slipped the headset on, grinning as he hit the start button and the swoosh filled his ears as he went under.

His eyes opened to his house again, and when he checked his watch he was relieved to see it was still the same time it had been when he left, meaning that his characters would never be confused when he left, which meant no weird explanations for them. Geoff sighed in relief for exiting his house, fully intending to go and find Geoff when suddenly Gavin’s arm linked through his and he was being dragged along towards the side of his own house. “Gav, what the hell man?” He asked, shooting a look towards the library that was being built. “I wanted to show you this idea I had for tonight, I really want to do fireworks and me and Ryan were starting to plan out how we would do and he told me I had to ask you so yeah.” His voice was a constant stream as Geoff was led to Ryan’s house, where a medley of noises could be heard. They pushed in through the door that already propped open. “Hey Rye-Bread!” Gavin called and Ryan turned around, pushing a pair of goggles up onto his forehead. “Yeah Gav… oh hey you brought Geoff, sweet.” Geoff nodded, slipping his arm from Gavin’s grasp and coming over to observe the mess that Ryan had created.

There was a variety of items that Geoff would never be able to name himself that were strewn across a large desk. “So, is this shit safe?” Geoff questioned and Ryan laughed. “I assumed you were going to ask that question.” He replied, clapping Geoff on the shoulder. “It’s all safe, I’ve done the calculations with Gavin and we’ve checked them over a few times. This shouldn’t fuck up.” He said, although his last words weren’t exactly reassuring to him. “Yeah, okay Ryan. Gav, I can’t believe I’m telling you of all people this but please watch Ryan and make sure he doesn’t blow the goddamn city up.” Gavin mock saluted him and Geoff chuckled, exiting the low ceilinged building and back out into the sun, blinking at the sudden brightness.

As he leisurely made his way across the square, soaking in the sun, he marveled at the realness of this world he had created. The sun on his skin and the light breeze felt like the real thing, like standing in the middle of an open field on a sunny day. He was impressed, and somehow he couldn’t get enough of it. “Geoff?” A voice came from next to him, and Geoff’s eyes snapped open. He hadn’t realized that he’d stopped in the middle of the star, and turned to see mildly concerned brown eyes behind thick frames glasses. “Oh, hey Ray.” He said with a fluid smile, and Ray cocked an eyebrow. “You alright there?” Geoff shrugged. “Y’know, it’s just been a good morning, and I have a good feeling about the rest of the day.” Ray seemed to take it as an acceptable answer. “So, what are you doing?” Geoff looked around, blinking blankly, and then suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be doing. “I’m going to go see the library progress.” He commented, starting to walk again, and Ray ended up following behind him, humming a nameless tune as they did.

The two of them ended up spending the entire morning and part of the afternoon with Jack, helping him with basic building efforts. Michael showed up later, and by the end of the afternoon they had the entire hidden room done except for the tiling. It looked great, and they all emerged feeling a little bit sweaty and a little bit exhausted, but they were all still excited for the night. Geoff and Michael offered to barbeque some pork and chicken, taking it slow and starting a fire as soon as they emerged and letting them really roast. The four of them relaxed around the fire, already breaking out the beer and enjoying it. Everyone except for Ray, which Geoff found odd seeing as he had programmed all of them to enjoy drinking, but Ray had decided that he didn’t like alcohol, and as far as that went it was confusing and delighting for Geoff seeing as he had developed a unique characteristic that was far from expected. Finally, around an hour into the food roasting, Ryan and Gavin came out toting a box full of colorful fireworks. They both smelled slightly burnt, but Geoff chose not to comment on it, just shooting them both a smirk that they returned with a childish shrug.

The night air was cool and the food was good. Laughter floated through the air, accompanied by an occasional squawk from Gavin, and the clink of beer bottles was a unique melody that paired with the crackling of the flames in front of them. Fluffy white marshmallows were passed around and stuck on sharpened sticks, some toasted and some sent up in flame, but all of them were eaten and everyone had sticky fingers afterwards. Ryan and Gavin set up all the fireworks, and then one by one they lit them and set them off. Each one lit up their faces, painting a navy sky with sparks of color that washed their hearts with the happiness of their night.

When they all retreated to their houses after putting out the fire, Geoff collapsed onto his bed and grinned, hitting the button as he closed his eyes and returning to the real world, allowing himself for a moment to let the day he’d spent with his characters, his friends, wash over him. It felt good, he felt alive, and was surprised to find that he was hungry after all the food he’d eaten in the game. As he shuffled to his kitchen he couldn’t stop smiling.

Geoff couldn’t wait to go back.


	4. On the idea of little sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff has been getting less and less sleep, and it's starting to have an impact on him

Geoff found that he was spending more and more time in the game, and less and less time in real life. When he didn’t have a job to do he would enter the game and not emerge for hours, and when he came out he would immediately shovel food in his mouth until he felt mildly replenished and then would pass out for a few hours. It was seriously all he did, and when he finally looked in the mirror he noticed that he looked a little worse for the wear. He scrubbed a hand down his face, noting the black circles under his eyes and the layer of stubble that coated his chin. He was torn, he knew that they wouldn’t miss him if he didn’t show up for a few days; they were all in suspended animation, but the thing is he was going to miss them. As sad as it would seem to someone on the outside, these characters, these people, had become his best friends. He stepped away from the mirror and glanced towards his bed, it seemed to be calling his name, but Geoff could also feel the pull of his office, tugging at him with invisible cords. 

In the end his office won out. 

Geoff collapsed into chair, sliding the headset on, a voice in the back of his mind telling him that he needed a shower and he needed to sleep, but his characters were taking precedence here, and as the black rushed in and the world developed around him. He woke up in his bed in the game and wished for a moment that he had chosen his own bed, until he heard banging on his door that motivated him to roll out of it and land unsteadily on his feet. He shuffled to his door and grinned to see that it was Jack, holding an apple and a sporting a soft smile. “Morning boss, the lads were sent to do some hunting today, so I thought me you and Ryan might spend a day finding all the other goods such as these.” He tossed Geoff the apple and turned on his heel, walking off and revealing that Ryan was waiting in the center of the courtyard. Geoff took a large chunk out of the apple, surprised at how even this in game apple tasted sweet and crunched like the fruit of reality. Exhaustion still rolled over him like it did in real life, sadly, and as he trudged behind the two as they entered the garden behind Jack’s house to gather some of the ripe fruits and vegetables. He was pleased that he had programmed the garden into the game, it meant that they could spend time relaxing in the sun and chatting while they got things together. 

The sun warmed the earth while they kneeled, and it was mostly a conversation between Jack and Ryan. Geoff was working his hardest to stay awake while he picked strawberries, although there was a black feathering at the edge of his vision that should have been a good sign that he needed to be asleep in real life, but instead he fought it off, trying to listen to the casual chat that was happening just a few feet away from him. The strawberries filled his senses with sweet aroma that seemed to be intensified by the warmth of sunbeams that caressed his face. Without meaning for it to happen the black at the edges of his vision became the black in the middle of his vision, and then there was nothing.

Geoff felt like he was floating.

It was terrifying at first, not being able to grasp onto anything tangible, it reminded him of the failure that the game had been for all the time, and it send ice through his veins. He was asleep, he knew that much was true, but due to the fact that he was still in the game the characters were all going to be dealing with his avatar passed out, and he had no way to will himself from the sleep. Geoff actually wasn’t sure what was going to be happening, he never intended to fall asleep in game for real, he had no idea the effect it would have on himself or the game, and that scared the shit out of him. It was weird though, the feeling of being aware due to the connection in his head, but still being completely asleep in real life. It was similar to lucid dreaming he imagined, this outside of mind feeling and being super aware of being asleep. He couldn’t change it though, and he guessed he was getting rest, so he let himself relax into the dreamless state he was in and let it run it’s course. 

It took four hours in real time for his body to have enough energy to wake up, and that meant in game it was the middle of the night somehow. Geoff still hadn’t grasped how the time worked in the game, but when his eyes fluttered open he was in, not his own house but Jack’s, which had obviously been closer when he blacked out. Ryan was leaned over him, and had just removed a damp cloth from his forehead. “Ah, sleeping beauty had awoken.” He teased, although there was a tension in the man’s voice, and the way his hair was mussed up confirmed Geoff’s suspicion that Ryan had been stressing himself out over this. He moved to sit up but was promptly pushed back down onto the bed by the firm hand of Ryan. It was then he was made aware of the four other men whom were scattered around the room he was in. Michael and Gavin sat close on a chair, it appeared that Michael had been comforting Gavin in the prospect of Geoff not waking up, and that sent sadness creeping up into him. Ray was crouched close to the bed, eyes trained on Geoff, and Jack appeared to have gone to get a glass of water from his kitchen area.

Guilt mixed in with the sadness that washed over Geoff in ways similar to the exhaustion had earlier that day. “So, are you going to fucking explain what the hell that was all about?” Michael grumbled from across the room, and Gavin swatted at him for the comment, murmuring something about not stressing him out so soon after waking up. There was a reluctance to the comment though, clearly the Brit wanted to know what had happened just as much if not more. There were expectant eyes on him, and he was grateful when Jack returned with water and helped him sit up enough that he could drink it. “I’m fine, I can sit up myself.” Geoff mumbled, taking a sip from the water and avoiding looking at any of them. “Yeah, that fucking explains why you passed out in the middle of the fucking day.” Michael added, and he heard the faint swat from Gavin again. “I haven’t been sleeping much, even when I go to sleep I’m not really sleeping well. It’s gotten… well it seems I am not sleeping much at all anymore.” Geoff admitted, and everyone seemed to release a breath they didn’t know they had been holding. “So, basically Geoff needs to be taking some naps?” Ray asked quietly, and Ryan and Jack both shook their heads. “No, Geoff needs to go to bed and sleep for however long his body will allow him to. No interruptions, just sleep until his body get’s it’s REM sleep back up.” Ryan explained, moving away from Geoff’s side and leaning against the wall. “Well, let’s get the fucker to his own house and let him sleep then!” Michael exclaimed, hopping from his position on the couch and going to help Geoff from the bed. 

Geoff pushed away their help, climbing out of the bed fine himself and stretching, his joints popping in a way that reminded him of his real age. “Well then, with that diagnosis, I am going to my house and I am going to sleep.” He said, eyeing the five men in the room. “And, I expect that you all get a good night’s sleep as well, I don’t know when I am going to be up, but I want you all to not let what happened to me, happen to you, okay?” They all nodded when they noticed he was waiting for it, and Geoff gave them a reassuring smile. “Thank you guys for being there for me today, especially when you had no fucking clue what the hell was going on. I’m a piece of shit who can’t take care of himself it seems.” He laughed at his own comment before turning and leaving Jack’s house, not waiting for their response. The trek across the courtyard at night was refreshing, the air was cool and it made him look forward to the comfort of his blankets in game as well as out of the game where he knew he was going to be getting a good amount of sleep before returning.

As soon as he was in the confines of his own walls and in bed, he disconnected from the game. Returning was a little bit disconcerting, seeing as it was late in real time as well. Geoff sighed, pushing away from his desk and dropping the headset on it before trudging to his bedroom, not even bothering to change any further from what he was wearing, and collapsed into the covers, welcoming the sleep that came so he could be prepared for another day, and for once with some real rest.


End file.
